Television - Tv news and the early cold war

Although it was a novelty in the United States at the end of World War II,
television became an important part of American life during the first
postwar decade. Fewer than one out of ten American homes had television in
1950. Five years later the proportion had grown to two-thirds. New
stations quickly took to the air and usually affiliated with one of the
networks: the National Broadcasting Company (NBC), the Columbia
Broadcasting System (CBS), the American Broadcasting Company (ABC), or the
short-lived DuMont Television Network.

Even when the networks consisted of a handful of stations, government
officials showed keen interest in using television to build public support
for U.S. foreign and military policies. Public affairs officers in the
State Department said they favored television because it did "a
better job than any other medium at depicting foreign policy in
action." The department worked with both networks and independent
producers to create shows about foreign policy and world affairs or make
available for telecast films that it produced itself. Among the most
popular series was
The Marshall Plan in Action,
which premiered on ABC in June 1950 and continued under the title
Strength for a Free World
until February 1953. Other shows were the interview program
Diplomatic Pouch
(CBS) and, during the Korean War,
The Facts We Face
(CBS) and
Battle Report—Washington
(NBC). In these early days of broadcasting, the networks were eager for
programming to fill up their time slots. They also took advantage of
opportunities to demonstrate support for American Cold War policies,
especially during the McCarthy era.

Evening newscasts became regular features during the late 1940s and early
1950s. Each network aired fifteen-minute programs. CBS and NBC expanded
their shows to thirty minutes in September 1963; ABC did not do the same
until January 1967. John Daly anchored the ABC broadcast during most of
the 1950s. Douglas Edwards held the same position at CBS until Walter
Cronkite replaced him in April 1962. The most popular news program in the
early 1950s was NBC's
Camel News Caravan,
with host John Cameron Swayze. With a carnation in his lapel and zest in
his voice, Swayze invited viewers to "go hopscotching the world for
headlines." After this brisk international tour, there might be
stops at a beauty pageant or a stadium for the afternoon's scores.
Chet Huntley and David Brinkley succeeded Swayze in October 1956. Anchors
and journalists rather than hosts, as Swayze had been, they brought
greater depth to the NBC newscasts without making them solemn. They also
attracted viewers because of the novelty of their pairing, the contrast in
their personalities, and the familiarity of their
closing—"Good night, Chet;" "Good night,
David." They led the ratings until the late 1960s.

International news was important on each of these programs, yet there were
difficulties in covering distant stories, especially on film. Fifteen
minutes (less time for commercials, lead-in, and closing) allowed coverage
of only a few stories and little time for analysis. Cumbersome and
complicated cameras and sound equipment made film reports difficult.
Before the beginning of satellite communication in the 1960s, it might
take a day or two for film from international locations to get on the air.
Despite these limitations, the audience for these newscasts grew steadily.
By 1961 surveys showed that the public considered television the
"most believable" source of news. Two years later, for the
first time, more people said that they relied on television rather than
newspapers for most of their news.

Many viewers watched in utter astonishment on 22 October 1962, when
President John F. Kennedy informed them about Soviet missiles in Cuba and
the possibility of nuclear war. Soviet diplomats got a copy of the speech
only an hour before Kennedy went before the cameras. The
president's decision to make his demand for the removal of the
missiles on television made compromise on this fundamental issue all but
impossible. Kennedy spoke directly to Soviet premier Nikita Khrushchev,
calling on him to step back from the nuclear brink. It was an extremely
skillful use of television as a medium of diplomatic communication. The
crisis dominated TV news coverage until its end six days later. The
reporting surely influenced public attitudes, but it probably had little
direct effect on Kennedy's advisers. Secretary of Defense Robert S.
McNamara later revealed that he did not watch television even once during
the thirteen days of the Cuban Missile Crisis. Yet during the growing
difficulties in Vietnam, Kennedy, his advisers, and those who succeeded
them in the White House paid close attention to television news.